United States v. Erick Herrera

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT JUL 21 2015 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 14-50231 Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 3:13-cr-02818-BEN Southern District of California, v. San Diego ERICK HERRERA, ORDER Defendant - Appellant. Before: FISHER, TALLMAN, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges. memorandum disposition is filed concurrently with this order. As so revised, the sentence imposed is AFFIRMED. No further petitions for rehearing will be entertained. NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS JUL 21 2015 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 14-50231 Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 3:13-cr-02818-BEN v. MEMORANDUM* ERICK HERRERA, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Roger T. Benitez, District Judge, Presiding Submitted July 20, 2015** Before: FISHER, TALLMAN, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges. Erick Herrera appeals from the district court 46-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for importation of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). denial of a minor role reduction, arguing that the court incorrectly compared him to a hypothetical average courier. uidelines de novo. See United States v. Rodriguez-Castro, 641 F.3d 1189, 1192 (9th Cir. 2011). In evaluating whether a defendant is a minor participant, the district court must compare s conduct and that of the other participants in the same offense. United States v. Rojas-Millan, 234 F.3d 464, 473 (9th Cir. 2000) (internal quotations omitted). suggestion that Herrera ought to be compared to a hypothetical average courier was, therefore, incorrect. See id. H s error was harmless because the record reflects that the court was aware of the other participants in the offense and agreed with the g substantially less culpable than the average in the offense given his quasi-supervisory role over L.G. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(A). The district court also properly cited the quantity of drugs transported and the minor role adjustment. See United States v. Hurtado, 760 F.3d 1065, 1069 (9th Cir. 2014), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 1467 (2015) (quantity of drugs and the amount paid to the defendant are facts that alone may justify denial of a minor role . 2 14-50231 AFFIRMED. 3 14-50231